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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 33:
The Sun's almost perfectly round shape baffles scientists
(Phys.org) -- The sun is nearly the roundest object ever measured. If scaled to the size of a beach ball, it would be so round that the difference between the widest and narrow diameters would be much less than the width of a human hair.
Scientists can now block heroin, morphine addiction; clinical trials possible within 18 months
In a major breakthrough, an international team of scientists has proven that addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked, while at the same time increasing pain relief.
Team deciphers retina's neural code for brain communication to create novel prosthetic retinal device for blind
(Medical Xpress) -- Two researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have deciphered a mouse's retina's neural code and coupled this information to a novel prosthetic device to restore sight to blind mice. The researchers say they have also cracked the code for a monkey retina — which is essentially identical to that of a human — and hope to quickly design and test a device that blind humans can use.
CERN physicists break record for hottest manmade material
(Phys.org) -- Apparently discovering a Higgs-like particle isn’t enough for the physicists working at the CERN facility, now another team working with the LHC has broken the record for the hottest manmade material ever. The old record was about four trillion degrees Celsius, the new one appears to be in the range of five and a half, a bump up of some thirty eight percent.
MASER power comes out of the cold: Researchers demo solid-state MASER capable of operating at room temperatures
Scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Imperial College London demonstrate, for the first time, a solid-state 'MASER' capable of operating at room temperature, paving the way for its widespread adoption - as reported in the journal Nature.
MPEG hammers out codec that halves bit rate
(Phys.org) -- A new international standard for a video compression format was announced today. The draft was issued by the influential Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) which met in Stockholm in July. MPEG, formed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), drew 450 participants at the meeting, from 26 countries, representing telecoms, computer, TV and consumer electronics industries. MPEG discussions and standards affect these industries. In other words, the standard is a big deal.
Self-charging battery both generates and stores energy
(Phys.org) -- Renewable energy technologies generally consist of two distinct processes: energy generation (using sources such as coal, solar, wind, etc.) and energy storage (such as batteries). These two processes are always accomplished through two separate units, with the first process converting the original form of energy to electricity, and the second process converting electricity to chemical energy. Now for the first time, engineers have demonstrated that energy can be generated and stored in a single device that converts mechanical energy directly to chemical energy, bypassing the intermediate step of electricity generation. The device basically acts as a hybrid generator-battery unit, or in other words, a self-charging power cell.
LHC experiments bring new insight into matter of the primordial universe
(Phys.org) -- Experiments using heavy ions at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are advancing understanding of the primordial universe. The ALICE, ATLAS and CMS collaborations have made new measurements of the kind of matter that probably existed in the first instants of the universe. They will present their latest results at the Quark Matter 2012 conference, which starts today in Washington DC. The new findings are based mainly on the four-week LHC run with lead ions in 2011, during which the experiments collected 20 times more data than in 2010.
Turmeric spices up virus study: New research shows curcumin stops virus cells
(Phys.org) -- The popular spice turmeric packs more than just flavor — it shows promise in fighting devastating viruses, Mason researchers recently discovered.
Crystals from chaos: Physicists observe new form of carbon
(Phys.org) -- A team of scientists led by Carnegie's Lin Wang has observed a new form of very hard carbon clusters, which are unusual in their mix of crystalline and disordered structure. The material is capable of indenting diamond. This finding has potential applications for a range of mechanical, electronic, and electrochemical uses. The work is published in Science on Aug. 17.
Scientists discover previously unknown cleaning system in brain
A previously unrecognized system that drains waste from the brain at a rapid clip has been discovered by neuroscientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The findings were published online August 15 in Science Translational Medicine.
Computing in the net of possibilities
(Phys.org) -- Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen have developed an entirely new principle for information processing. The complex network computer now stands as an alternative to the other possibilities in data processing - such as the conventional computer or the quantum computer. The fundamental requirement is a system, for instance a laser, with oscillating elements that can interact with one another. The researchers were able to demonstrate that the characteristic dynamics of such a system can be cleverly harnessed to perform the full range of logical operations. The complex network computer can even perform some tasks, such as the coarse sorting of numbers, considerably faster than conventional computers. Furthermore, the researchers have managed to take a first step in programming a robot according to the new principle.
Good vibrations: Researchers record first direct observations of quantum effects in an optomechanical system
A long-time staple of science fiction is the tractor beam, a technology in which light is used to move massive objects – recall the tractor beam in the movie Star Wars that captured the Millennium Falcon and pulled it into the Death Star. While tractor beams of this sort remain science fiction, beams of light today are being used to mechanically manipulate atoms or tiny glass beads, with rapid progress being made to control increasingly larger objects. Those who see major roles for optomechanical systems in a host of future technologies will take heart in the latest results from a first-of-its-kind experiment.
UNL discovery has implications for finding life on Earth, Mars
(Phys.org) -- Moqui marbles, unusual balls of rock that can be found rolling around the southwestern U.S. sandstone regions, were formed roughly 2 million years ago with the help of microorganisms. This discovery by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln research team has implications for finding life on Mars and for better understanding Earth's past.
Physicists demonstrate that 15=3x5 about half of the time
Computing prime factors may sound like an elementary math problem, but try it with a large number, say one that contains more than 600 digits, and the task becomes enormously challenging and impossibly time-consuming. Now, a group of researchers at UC Santa Barbara has designed and fabricated a quantum processor capable of factoring a composite number — in this case the number 15 — into its constituent prime factors, 3 and 5.
Greenland melting breaks record four weeks before season's end
Melting over the Greenland ice sheet shattered the seasonal record on August 8 – a full four weeks before the close of the melting season, reports Marco Tedesco, assistant professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at The City College of New York.
Toxoplasma gondii parasite may trigger suicide attempts
A parasite thought to be harmless and found in many people may actually be causing subtle changes in the brain, leading to suicide attempts.
Evolutionary increase in size of the human brain explained
Researchers have found what they believe is the key to understanding why the human brain is larger and more complex than that of other animals.
DNA used to encode a book and other digital information
(Phys.org) -- A team of researchers in the US has successfully encoded a 5.27 megabit book using DNA microchips, and they then read the book using DNA sequencing. Their experiments show that DNA could be used for long-term storage of digital information.
Accidental breakthrough on the puzzle of atmospheric acids
In a classic example of an accidental scientific breakthrough a University of Sydney research team may have solved the mystery of why there is more non-industrial acid in air than anyone can explain.
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